Google Workspace merges G Suite into single platform

Google Cloud has launched a fully integrated workspace productivity platform from which customers can access widely-used G Suite apps including Gmail, Calendar and Drive, among others.

With a new user interface, the desktop-based application will allow users to seamlessly cycle between the entire G Suite portfolio depending on the task at hand, building on the integration of core tools earlier in the year.

The merging of these core tools, including chat, email, voice and video calling as well as content management, aims to give employees access to all the tools they need in one place. Users have previously needed to endlessly cycle between web browser tabs, or third-party desktop clients, in order to replicate the same experience.

The launch of Google Workspace essentially overwrites the G Suite, with new branding also launched to coincide with the platform rollout.

“Now, work itself is transforming in unprecedented ways. For many of us, work is no longer a physical place we go to, and interactions that used to take place in person are being rapidly digitized,” said VP and GM for Google Workspace, Javier Soltero.

“Office workers no longer have impromptu discussions at the coffee machine or while walking to meetings together, and instead have turned their homes into workspaces.

“These are unique challenges, but they also represent a significant opportunity to help people succeed in this highly distributed and increasingly digitized world. With the right solution in place, people are able to collaborate more easily, spend time on what matters most, and foster human connections, no matter where they are.”

Beyond merely serving as a centralised hub, among the uses of Google Workspace, customers can dynamically create and collaborate on a document with guests through a chat room, for example. This means it’s easier to share content and work together with users beyond the confines of your organisation’s network.

Users can also preview a linked file in Docs, Sheets and Slides without having to open a new tab, meaning, again, less time is spent cycling between web tabs. Google Meet video conferencing sessions, meanwhile, can be seen as picture-in-picture in not only Gmail and Chat, as the firm previously announced, but in Docs, Sheets and Slides as well.

There are different pricing tiers available with Google Workspace, depending on the needs of any particular organisation, in addition to varying amounts of cloud storage. Subscriptions also include administrative and security tools to manage workforce access to Google’s productivity tools, as well as threat protection.